5 essential lessons PR pros can learn from marketing

Companies used to rely on sales language and promotional content to engage their audiences.

Canned press releases and email blasts to media outlets kept people updated on what companies were up to, and no one relied much on brands for entertainment or education—just the facts and an occasional pitch.

Today, that dynamic has changed. Consumers demand more from branded content than ever before. Where press releases and promotional material were once the norm, industry insights and content marketing have taken hold. Audiences don’t have the time (or interest) to spare for blatantly self-promotional sales pitches. What people crave is genuinely interesting and educational content from industry leaders with the clout to earn their attention.

This shift hasn’t eliminated the role of PR. However, it has changed the relationship between PR and marketing. Once divided by a departmental wall, PR and marketing now share similar motivations and tactics—and neither can reach its full potential without the other’s help.

Marketers, for instance, lean on the channel expertise and media connections of PR departments to position content in the best light. PR professionals, meanwhile, need guidance from marketers to move away from dry or sales-oriented pieces and toward engaging, high-quality content that provides more value to hungry audiences.

That’s not to say that the old functions of PR have died out. PR professionals still have a crucial role to play in communications with consumers,